Especially His: Alistair Begg

Showing posts with label Alistair Begg. Show all posts

Friday, June 11, 2021

Why Worry? God’s in Charge!

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uU4ucQtMzHk&t=1201s

or search YouTube for Alasdiar Begg for

Why Worry? God's in Charge

When the windscreens of our lives ice up, we need to have prepared by knowing that God has prepared us with a methodology to deal with the worst of the worst.

By using the 'solvent' of God's Word in our lives ... and in this way we will be prepared to share the hope that is in our life.

Never pretend to be free from worry. Life does impact every Christian.

Key, helpful 'solvent' verses to keep in your heart:

" ... but He has said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, My lovingkindness and My mercy are more than enough -- always available regardless of the situation; for My power is being perfected and is completed and shows itself most effectively in your weakness.'

"Therefore, I will all the more gladly boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may completely enfold me and may dwell in me. So I am well pleased with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, and with difficulties, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak in human strength, then I am strong, truly able, truly powerful, truly drawing from God's strength."

II Corinthians 12:9-10

"So will My word be which goes out of My mouth; it will not return to Me void, useless, without result, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:11

Romans 14

Romans 8

"I am convinced and confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will continue to perfect and complete it until the day of Christ Jesus -- the time of His return."

Philippians 1:6

"Do not be afraid and anxious, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."

Luke 12:32

Thursday, June 10, 2021

A Failed Solution

Scripture: 2 Samuel 11:6-13

Hard lesson that should touch us all. Prepare your heart!

Just say 'No!'

The faithfulness of God overcomes the arrogant unfaithfulness of David, made king by His very hand. How sad and sinful we are!

Help us tremble at the door to sin!

Thank the Lord for His gracious forgiveness and hope in our development and understanding of His Word and will for us.

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

BIBLE STUDY: HUMILITY AND GOLDILOCKS

Take a moment to watch this YouTube video

before you begin the study.

Just click on the link or copy and paste the link into your browser:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rTbE5DshPk

or search YouTube for: “Private Jet Pastor”

Think of a person you know in real life who has exhibited humility in their life? What were they like?

Christ and humility

There is no better example of humility than Jesus! In this study, you can easily review some of the activities of Jesus' life that demonstrate for us what humility and meekness means for us today.

Look up each of the Scriptures and answer the question. If you know the answer, write it down, but look up the Scripture anyway and read it.

a. Where was Jesus born? (Luke 2:1-7)

b. How did He grow up? (Luke 2:41-50)

c. How did Jesus interact with John the baptiser? (Matthew 3:1-17)

d. In Jesus famous Sermon on the Mount what does He teach about being meek and humble? (Matthew 5, 6, 7)

e. How did Jesus deal with children? Matthew 19:14)

f. What was so special of Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well? (John 4:4-26)

g. What did Jesus know about those who would stone the woman caught in immorality? (John 8:7)

h. How did Jesus treat His disciples, even Judas, at the last supper? (John 13:5)

Goldilocks and the dangers of humility

Goldilocks is a fairy tale that teaches us the practical way to apply humility. And just like Goldilocks, humility has to be 'just right'. Jesus told of how the Pharisees and the Sadducees would practice their righteousness before men, but looking humble to others can also become prideful.

It is important to think honourably about the gifts and strengths you've been given and endeavour to use them wisely and ultimately for His glory. On this scale, you need to be in the middle - just right.

Humble Proud

See the first and second YouTube videos below

for additional information about this.

Practical and Personal Application

Considering what has been reviewed here, what is one way you better live out the essence of Jesus’ example of meekness and humility.

Additional Scriptures to Explore about Humility and Meekness

Take time to look up these verses. You can look one up a week, one a day or break them into time-manageable clusters.

In the corresponding column write a keyword or phrase to help you remember what you’ve learned about humility and meekness in the verses.

Then, take time to pray these verses and concepts for your life and use your new insights to help others understand this Christian life characteristic.

	Reference	Write a word or phrase that will be meaningful for you to remember the ‘meat’ of the message.
Humility - Old Testament
1	Genesis 43:28
2	Leviticus 23:27-32
3	I Kings 8:33
4	Psalm 18:35
5	Psalm 45:4
6	Proverbs 11:2
7	Proverbs 15:33
8	Proverbs 16:18
9	Proverbs 18:12
10	Proverbs 22:4
11	Proverbs 29:23
12	Joel 2:15
13	Zephaniah 2:3
Humility - New Testament
14	Acts 20:19
15	II Corinthians 10:1
16	Galatians 5:23
17	Galatians 6:1
18	Ephesians 4:2
19	Philippians 2:3-8
20	Colossians 2:18-23
21	Colossians 3:12
22	Titus 3:2
23	James 1:21
24	James 3:13
25	I Peter 3:15
26	I Peter 5:5
Jesus was Meek
27	Zechariah 9:9
28	Matthew 11:29
29	John 13:5
30	II Corinthians 8:9
31	Philippians 2:8

YouTube Videos for further study

1. Francis Chan The Importance Of Humility (4 mins) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQBjKJlNefo
2. (False) Christian Humility | What it Means to be Humble (6 mins 19 sec) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KRjz3s-KRQ
3. Beg God for the Miracle of Humility – Desiring God (2 mins 8 Sec) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mksq5hgnZdo
4. What is Christian Humility? | Being Humble Today | Humility Explained (4 min 31 sec)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZPrdXSKsB0
5. Being Christian in a Secular World - Bruce Downes The Catholic Guy (29 mins21 sec) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkChZHiiNLY
6. Humility - Alistair Begg – (33 min 55 sec) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AiZ2jFZqC4

Sunday, October 20, 2019

MORE THAN FAMINES, EARTHQUAKES AND RUMORS OF WAR

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JDARNSzVyE&feature=youtu.be

Strangely enough, this video is banned and may not even be available when you try to find it. It is the Attorney General of the USA, AG Barr as he spoke at Notre Dame on 14 October 2019.

I tried to find a hard copy of it, but was unable to find one. InfoWars may be one place to hear it. I highly recommend it.

This week, as I was leading a Bible study, one of the topics that arose was the End Times.

"And Jesus began to say to them, 'See to it that no one misleads you. Many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He!' and will mislead many. And when you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end.

"'For nation will arise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines.

"'These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. But be on your guard; for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them.'" Mark 13:5-9

An amazing sermon on this very topic

is by Alistair Begg

Signs of the End Times

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0QtN6viTIU

You will not be disappointed by this very powerful sermon.

The text is Mark 13 5-13.

Intro Statement of Faith

Why "Especially His"? It comes from a closing statement in the WeakDay Devotions that I have been writing nearly every morning since 1999. Each day I close with this:

"Take care with love, especially His"

Although it is shared with many others around the world now, it seems each day's entry is written specifically for me and for what I am experiencing because I am, as the closing says, "especially His".

Over my lifetime I have been writing and teaching Bible-based studies and wanted a way for these teachings to reach a wider audience -- and hopefully be my legacy to a future generation. We all benefit from fellowship and good teaching and motivation that comes through prayer and reading our Bibles!

On this site you will find a variety of Bible-based and Christ-focused materials. My prayer is that they will help you grow and help you as you help others grow.

Modern-day Evangelism

Something amazing I learned as a young follower of Jesus Christ was that most of the efforts of modern day evangelism have little lasting effect, other than exposing an increasing number of people to God's Word. And as it says in Isaiah 55:11:

"So Shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it."

Yet, many are not ready, have hard hearts, are surrounded by influencing family or peers and they slink away into the warmth and darkness of unexpected despair.

We Need Ways

I do not minimise the value of canned methods or fancy printed tracts or little gimmicks like colourful beads strung on a leather bracelet or origami-folded coloured cards. We all need to have a way to share our faith in a way we are comfortable using.

I myself, was brought to the Cross through a tract called "Peace With God" published by the Billy Grahame Evangelistic Organisation, and I have trained in most of the methodologies for sharing my faith with another. I even wrote one that focuses on how Jesus evangelised and is based on the four Gospels.

But while being discipled under a wonderful Navigator couple (Don and Elaine Lanier) I also learned a statistic that makes so much sense. It goes like this:

"If each one of us, won one person per year to Christ, and we spent that one year discipling them in the basics, every person in the world would hear the Gospel message of Salvation in just thirty-three years."

Earmarked from the Beginning

Our lives are drawn to deciding to or not to follow Jesus from the moment we are conceived. This journey is as unique as our DNA (yes I do know about identical twins).

The journey after we come to understand the grace of the Father is furthermore unique until we die and begin eternity with our heavenly Father.

Statement of Faith

There is more to come, but want you to know just the core basics of my beliefs.

1. I believe God made man in His image and loves him and desires fellowship with him (Genesis 1:26-27, I John 4:10, John 3:16).

2. I believe there is no other way to Eternal Salvation than through knowing I am helpless against my sin nature and choice of sin. (Romans 5:6-8; 6:23).

3. There is nothing I can do to be acceptable in Heaven (Romans 3:20).

4. The only possibility is to accept the freely-offered gift of Jesus Christ paying the price for my sins by His death and resurrection. (I Corinthians 15:3-6; John 14:6).

5. I believe that the gift of Salvation is just that a gift and it is a gift by grace alone (Ephesians 2:8-9) and because this is a gift of grace, there is nothing I can do to make God love me more than He does once I accepted His salvation and there is nothing I can do to make God love me less.

6. That my salvation is not transitory according to my behaviour and that He holds me firmly in the palm of His hand (John 10:29).

7. That from the moment of Salvation, my life is a personal journey of growth that He has designed just for me (Psalm 139).

8. That the Bible is His Word to help me grow daily. II Timothy 3:16. (The translation I use for all quotes, unless otherwise specified, is The New American Standard Bible, ©The Lockman Foundation.)